Can a path change the life of both a man and a landscape? It didn’t take but a detour during a hiking trip, in September 1999, in the green-clad gorge of Anthohori – a magical spot in the heart of the mountain, a mere 4.5 kms from the lake of Plastira – in order for the page of a special story of hospitality to be written. When he laid eyes on the small wooden lodge reveal itself through the mist

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among the fir trees, the walnut trees and the oak trees, Christos Athanasiadis, a keen hiker and mountain lover, knew he had found the retreat of his dreams. Little did he imagine though that this would be the start of an exciting adventure! Here, in candlelight, in the company of the sounds of the running water and the smells of the forest, he experienced some of the most beautiful moments of his life either all by himself in the mountain or together with his loved ones. In this unique place, in the pristine forest, he longed to share these moments of deep relaxation, rebirth and contact with nature with even more people. So, with his friend Dimitris Panagopoulos they began designing Montanema Handmade Village. Stone by stone, a dream came true and a completely handmade village of hospitality was born, where love for nature and art, a taste for tradition ,an ecological conscience along with an authentic hospitality make sense.

A natural landscape surrendered to oblivion and to complete silence for years, full of pictures taken from fairy tales, awaits to be discovered step by step. Follow it, hear it, smell it, live it , take it all in! We’ve done our best to keep it as dreamlike as it was when it revealed itself to us. We’ve paved the way through the pristine forest, we’ve found the raw materials and the techniques to build a truly ecological village, we’ve sought out the finest local products and recipes that take us back in time, we‘ve planned new way and experiences in the heart of nature, we’ve made up a team who have put their heart and soul into every detail. We didn’t neglect the comforts nor the small or big luxuries that will bring out the magic of the scenery. Yet the real luxury is out there...

Follow the forest!

Philosophy

A natural landscape surrendered to oblivion
and to complete silence for years, full of
pictures taken from fairy tales, awaits to be
discovered step by step. Follow it, hear it,
smell it, live it , take it all in! We’ve done our
best to keep it as dreamlike as it was when
it revealed itself to us. We’ve paved the way
through the pristine forest, we’ve found the
raw materials and the techniques to build a
truly ecological village, we’ve sought out the
finest local products and recipes that take us
back in time, we‘ve planned new way and
experiences in the heart of nature, we’ve
made up a team who have put their heart
and soul into every detail. We didn’t neglect
the comforts nor the small or big luxuries
that will bring out the magic of the scenery.
Yet the real luxury is out there…

Follow the fores

ΜΟΙΡΑΣΟΥ

ΧΑΛΑΡΩΣΕ

We are green

Nature, our passion
The discovery of this magical landscape is solely due to our love for nature, which along with our respect for the environment have been the key factors in every stage of the creation of Montanema Handmade Village.
The design of the complex follows the principles of bio-climatic architectural design and eco-structure, with wood and stone as the main materials. It takes advantage of the solar gains during the winter as well as the cooling loads and natural elements of cooling during the summer. Solid masonry of 50-60 cms was made with great heat capacity in the buildings and insulation of 10-15 cms was put on the

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walls, the roofs and the floors. Wooden doors and double-glazed windows were chosen (low-e=1,1 soft coating).
Independent pellet units are used for the heating of every lodging which, combined with the energy fireplaces, contribute to the environment and to climate reversal, as wood is one of the renewable energy sources. We’ve proceeded to the installation of solar panels so as to ensure hot water all the time. Local stone (from the building site itself, as well) was used for the construction of the stone built houses while the timber comes from the area too. The cement screed was made by Kourasanit , the most reinforced and ecological traditional building material.The painting of the walls was made with established and certified eco-friendly paints.The floors are made of baked clay (cotto), a natural material, 100% recyclable.
In the initial design we took into account the flora of the estate and we intervened as little as possible while we planted a big amount of trees and bushes of the area.The whole surrounding space is in perfect harmony with nature.The water supply and irrigation system come from mountain springs.The mattresses are antiallergic made of ecological and recyclable materials as well as the bed covers and sheets.
The raw materials of the products used come from local certified biological farmers of the area,limiting thus our carbon footprint.
The biological cleaning operates so as not to burden the area nor the underground water although we were under no obligation to proceed with such a construction by the initial study.The product of biological cleaning is used for the irrigation of part of our estate.
We put great emphasis on recycling as well, making compost from our organic residues, an ideal nourishment for our garden allotments. We also separate our waste into glass, metal and plastic.
Although our license was issued before KENAK (Greek acronym for the regulation of energy efficient buildings), we meet its demands for the buildings of our area to the full.

Publications

Our fellow travellers

Evangelos Katsaros, Civil Engineer,

Specialist student-constructor of bioclimatic, ecological and passive buildings. Specialist in the control of the Earth’s magnetic fields (geobiology- Hartmann nodes) Member of the Board of Passive House Association Hellenic and member of Passivhaus Institut Member of S.OL.A.R. (Association of Holistic architecture and Ecological building) Student of virtual enhanced reality Vice-President of the Ecological organization “Ecosphere” General Management, study-supervision of construction